MODERN ART LESSONS · STUDENT WORKSHEET
Party Cactus: Build a Cartoon Character
Make an original character design page featuring a cactus with a party invitation. The character wants to greet a new neighbor, but is unsure how to offer a hug safely. One possible ending: it waves and offers a cheerful paper greeting. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
Character reference shared across ten skill lessons—not a picture of the completed assignment. Study the example for possibilities, then close or cover it. Your work should make different choices.
Story starter and example
The character wants to greet a new neighbor, but is unsure how to offer a hug safely. One possible ending: it waves and offers a cheerful paper greeting. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer. Two different body proportions can suggest the same character. Choose one, retain its identifying prop, and avoid tracing the reference.
What to do
- Your finished project is an original character design page featuring a cactus with a party invitation. Read the story seed: The character wants to greet a new neighbor, but is unsure how to offer a hug safely. One possible ending: it waves and offers a cheerful paper greeting. Invent a different kind ending if you prefer.
- Start with upright stem, two curved arms, and a rectangular invitation. These are helpful shapes, not a tracing template.
- Try a rounded version and an angular version of the same character using large simple shapes.
- Choose the shape arrangement that best fits the personality. Add the identifying feature and one useful prop.
- Draw a larger final version; simplify tiny details that disappear when viewed from an arm’s length.
- View the drawing from an arm’s length. Name the first three shapes you see and simplify an unclear detail. Plan for an unfamiliar reader; compare alternatives and revise pacing, emphasis, or consistency using feedback.
My project: an original character design page featuring a cactus with a party invitation. My chosen ending is…
Try rounded shapes here. Try angular shapes here.
Circle your choice and explain its personality.
Draw the final design and mark its three identifying features.
Story clue: How will I show that the character is unsure how to offer a hug safely?
Before feedback, I wanted the reader to notice… The reader actually noticed…
Revision: I changed… because…
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